Poof! It’s 2018 and virtual reality is clearly climbing into all corners of the travel industry. Whatever segment you work in- whether as a tour operator, travel agent, hotel, restaurant, airport, winery, restaurant – this issue has something that should make you go “Hmm” or maybe, “Wow!” Enjoy!

'Smart'S' hotels and virtual reality tours: Madrid fair previews the future of tourism Thelocal.esA hotel room automatically adjusting to the tastes of each guest, virtual reality headsets as brochures: the tourism sector is starting to embrace new technologies, hoping to benefit from lucrative personal data. In a prototype of the hotel of the future on display at Madrid's Fitur tourism fair, receptionists have disappeared and customers are checked-in via a mirror equipped with facial recognition. READ MORE

Las Vegas New York New York hotel debuts Big Apple Coaster VR Experience on Feb 7 Attractionsmagazine.comThe wildest roller coaster ride on The Strip is getting a high tech upgrade, as the New York New York hotel and casino in Las Vegas has announced that they are adding an optional virtual reality experience to their Big Apple Coaster. READ MORE

'The Walking Dead' Wine uses augmented reality to bring wine labels to life Comicbook.comThe Last Wine Company is introducing two The Walking Dead wines. One is Blood Red Blend and another is Cabernet Sauvignon. Each wine features a label that responds to the Living Wine Labels app. The app an augmented reality app that brings labels to life. READ MORE

Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain Technology likely to change travel industry's landscape NDTV.comArtificial Intelligence's impact on the travel industry is massive and it has the potential to transform business completely. Corporate travel industry is already growing by leaps and bounds, however, the advent of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to give it another shot in the arm. READ MORE

Virtual Reality viewer transports tourists to destinations from past Stuff.co.nzImagine arriving at your favourite destination in France and then stepping back hundreds of years in time. A new device displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas aims to give you just that experience. Timescope is a virtual reality device that allows uses to view visualizations of historical sights as they could have appeared in the past.... just like looking through binoculars as you would at any landmark. READ MORE

10 USE Cases of using augmented reality for beverage tastingjasoren.comAugmented reality has a lot to offer businesses that work in the food and beverage industry. It can spark customer engagement by educating, entertaining, and showing brand transparency. AR not only engages consumers, but also inspires them to see, taste, and experience your product in a new way. READ MORE

Heathrow boosts traveller engagement with augmented reality appFourthsource.comIn July last year, Heathrow welcomed more than 7.53 million passengers, up 1.2% when compared to July 2016. Averaging 243,000 passengers every day. The family-focused airport turned their attention to enhancing customer experience within the airport, ensuring that even the tiniest travellers had the most enjoyable journey possible. Heathrow embraced augmented reality technology for the first time, partnering with UK-based Ads Reality, to create the Around the World with Mr. Adventure free app. READ MORE

StubHub is using augmented reality to help you buy Super Bowl tickets Mashable.comFor serious football fans, there's no more prized (or pricey) ticket than the Super Bowl. But that ticket also often comes with a lot of the unknowns that accompany traveling to a massive event in an unfamiliar stadium and city. READ MORE

Under of the heading of “Unintended Consequences”: The sun.co.ukTechs’ Appeal: A generation of people won’t leave their bedrooms once virtual reality porn becomes mainstream, warns expert. READ MORE